Simplifying Expedition Food With Single Serving Sized Packages

Introduction

This article will highlight, in part, how I simplify the shopping, packaging, and preparation of expedition foods by heavily relying upon single serving sized packages – especially for snacks that I eat throughout the day while on the trail (as opposed to in camp). Take note, however: I will not be discussing pre-packaged freeze dried meals. My preference is for foods that have a higher nutritional quality, a higher caloric density, and/or a lower cost than what is available in the food aisle at a local outfitter.

What I’m offering are my personal favorites in a few different categories. They are summarized in the following table.

Category

Food

Package Size

Calories

Caloric Density

Fat

Carb

Protein

High Caloric Density

Sahale Snacks Glazed Nuts

43 g

210

138 Cal/oz

14 g

18 g

6 g

Morale

Annie’s Bunny Snacks

23 g

70

86 Cal/oz

0 g

18 g

0 g

High Protein

SeaBear Wild Salmon

100 g

130

37 Cal/oz

2.5 g

0 g

26 g

High Caloric Density

Walker’s Shortbread Fingers

32 g

159

141 Cal/oz

7.9 g

20.6 g

1.6 g

High Caloric Density

Justin’s Almond Butter

32 g

200

177 Cal/oz

18 g

6 g

7 g

Fiber/Low-Sugar Carb

Terra Sweet Potato Chips

34 g

170

142 Cal/oz

11 g

22 g

1.4 g

Morale

Panda Black Licorice

32 g

100

89 Cal/oz

0 g

25 g

1 g

Perhaps some of these ingredients will find their way into your backcountry diet, or spark some interest in related foods.

#7. Sahale Snacks Glazed Nuts

I first discovered these at a Starbucks shop in Butte, Montana. I’m a fan of sweetened nuts and fruit/nut mixes more than just plain old nuts. Plain nuts (even salted and roasted) get old really fast on even short duration trips. I’ve probably returned from more trips with more weight of uneaten plain nuts than any other food.

Sahale Snacks Glazed Nuts.

#6. Annie’s Bunny Snacks

The kids know what’s up with these. I like to trick myself into thinking they are healthy since they are organic, made with real fruit juice, etc. Some days, I may even believe that they’re fruit. I used to eat fruit snacks purchased in bulk from the likes of Costco (e.g., Kellogg’s), but I’ve been trying to avoid foods where the first ingredient is corn syrup.

Annie’s Bunny Snacks

#5. SeaBear Wild Salmon

Single serving foil packets containing pre-cooked ground beef, chicken, tuna, and salmon are now common items found on the aisles of most grocery stores but many of them have strange additives and thus, taste a bit like, well, something else than what’s advertised. Such is the nature of most processed foods, I suppose. But the SeaBear Wild Salmon packets really are something special. I grew up in the Pacific Northwest, the son of a salmon fisherman, so I’m a little picky about my ocean fishes. SeaBear does not disappoint, and the only two ingredients are salmon and sea salt. I spread this on fried bagels for breakfasts, seed crackers for lunches, or fold it into noodle dishes or chowder for dinner.

SeaBear Wild Salmon

#4. Walker’s Shortbread Fingers

I’ve been eating this glorious butter stick-disguised-as-a-cookie for as long as I can remember, and I’ve never grown tired of it. This is another really simple food – four ingredients: flour, butter, sugar, and salt. My favorite lunch snack includes two fingers slathered in almond butter – a 350+ Calorie snack that you can continue licking from your gums for miles!

Walker’s Shortbread Fingers

#3. Justin’s Almond Butter

Another tasty food, considering that it contains only two ingredients: almonds and palm oil. An outrageously high caloric density (177 Cal/oz) and convenient single-serving squeeze packet make this a food that I buy by the case – often.

Justin’s Almond Butter

#2. Terra Sweet Potato Chips

I’ll admit it. I love chips. I used to pack snack bags of Fritos, Cheetos, and Doritos on most of my trips, crushing them into little bits so they wouldn’t take up space in my pack. Then, when it came time to eat them, I’d tear off a corner and pour them into my mouth. More recently, as I’ve tried to incorporate more nutritious options into my backcountry trips, I discovered other types of chips that have higher levels of fiber and non-sugar carbohydrates, with Terra Sweet Potato Chips being my favorite.

Terra Sweet Potato Chips

#1. Panda Black Licorice

For a candy, this one is very simply made: it contains only molasses, flour, licorice, and aniseed oil. I consider myself somewhat of a licorice connoisseur, which means that if it isn’t fresh, heavily salted, and delightfully chewy, then it isn’t licorice. Panda Black comes close. It’s my favorite food for the three o’clock blues when I’m tired from a long day with several miles still to go. There’s something to be said for morale food.

Panda Black Licorice

Your Picks?

Help others by making the forum attached to this article a repository for packaged snack ideas. What are your favorites?

I originally tried this stuff for trail running, where I found it a bit hard to swallow without copious amounts of water. For backpacking trips, however, it's great! Works great either plain or spread onto a homemade bar.

for one, i can eat a 16oz bag of cashews while drinking a cheap bottle of wine (both avail at Trader Joe's) at one sitting. no problems what so ever.
so "extra uneaten nuts" ??? what's with that program ….
like, you CAN't have too many cashews. you just can't.
you probably could not have too many macadamia nuts as well, but lordy, they cost a Ton more money.

also, that nut butter and salmon packaging is like, an neutron bomb of problems about to blow in a pack. that be just my op, but just one of those salmon ied's going off would seriously compromise a trip. and you'd never get the stench out. worse than diesel fuel even. which, i guess it's not really that bad once you decide to appreciate the aroma.

the cookies are not going to live long unless in a bear can, and that can is not packed very tight.

all in all, an interesting article, if only to see how other folks deal in various ways with the issues of eating fun on a trip.

as far as dogma goes. it's all good. you can go faster and easier with single servings of foods, that deal with opening multiple bags and doling out this and such amounts of whatever at every meal break gets old.
for snacks, i figure out in the morning what is the day's ration, and dump that in my front bag. when it's gone .. it's gone.

I'm not seeing the utility of this article. There's nothing here about simplifying meal planning or eating except the convenience of buying pre-packaged. That's a weak justification, easily countered by the extra expense and packaging waste.

"…also, that nut butter and salmon packaging is like, an neutron bomb of problems about to blow in a pack. that be just my op, but just one of those salmon ied's going off would seriously compromise a trip. and you'd never get the stench out…"

I think single serving packets have a place in a backpackers diet. I use single serving packets of Artisana nut butters and coconut oil. They sell Walnut, Pecan, Almond, Macadamia, and Cashew nut butters that I know of, and a wonderful blend called Cacao Bliss that Doug Ide turned me on to. It is a wonnnnnderful mix of coconut butter and chocolate that is, as The Colonel says, "finger lickin' good". I
also carry Justins Dark Chocolate Almond and Peanut Butter bars. All are calorie dense, and the Justins bars contain anywhere from 25-29 grams of carbs in a 2 oz bars, along with 2-3 grams of fiber, 5 grams of protein and 14-16 grams of fat.
The nut butters are up close to 200 calories in a 30-32 gram packet, with good amounts of protein and fiber, but not much in the way of carbs. Other than these items, I prefer to buy in bulk and repackage in zip locks. Cheaper, healthier, and more options for variety. Oh, and individual packets of Via coffee substitute. Sorry, Roger. ;0)

We package most of our food from the bulk (nuts, chocolates, etc.). However, for a bought/pre-packaged single serving, the PackIt Gourmet fruit smoothies are super delicious at roughly 4.7 kcal/g. Their Cheddar Jack Spread is also good and ~6.9 kcal/g.

I've tried a lot of "on the go" foods over the years, but nothing, I say nothing beats Ems Power Bars and Cookies. Em is a nutritionalist and famous NZ ultra distance multi sport adventurer. Check these out at http://www.powercookies.com/